Abandoned Woman Busy Farming
Chapter 1726: Visitors from Uncle’s Family

Chapter 1726: Chapter 1726: Visitors from Uncle’s Family

In Mountain Village, Bai Ruozhu was counting the days without knowing about the big event happening in the Capital, until one day Lin Ping’er called her aside and mysteriously asked, "How’s the family of the Ministry of Rites Vice Minister doing? I haven’t heard you mention them. Could something have happened? Didn’t you say that after we left, they accidentally exposed the situation?"

"I inquired about it; the Ministry of Rites Vice Minister got slightly injured during the chaos in the Palace. Fortunately, his eldest son was with him at the banquet and knew some martial arts, protecting him as they escaped. The main members of their family arrived along with the second group." Bai Ruozhu said.

Lin Ping’er listened with relief, "You didn’t mention anything, I was worried they didn’t escape."

Bai Ruozhu let out a gentle sigh, "I used to be close with his granddaughter, but I told her last time that I didn’t want to acknowledge kinship, so our relationship broke off. Bringing it up now would be quite troublesome."

"Should we mention it to your father? Our family will eventually head to Beiyu City again, and we’ll also need to return to the Capital in the future. It’s better for us to tell him than for him to hear it from others, to prevent needless speculation." Lin Ping’er asked worriedly.

Bai Ruozhu pondered for a moment, "Maybe, Mother, you should find a chance to mention it to Father, but don’t go into too much detail; let’s see what Father thinks first."

Lin Ping’er understood, the "not too detailed" meant avoiding specifics like Bai Guanghe’s parents disliking his wife, him accepting a concubine arranged by his parents, and eventually leading to the concubine plotting against the wife.

She quickly found a time to mention it briefly to Bai Yihong, who got very excited upon hearing, "You’ve found out everything? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

Lin Ping’er avoided his somewhat excited gaze, saying, "We weren’t sure before, afraid of getting your hopes up for nothing. It was only when we were about to depart that Ruozhu confirmed it."

"The Ministry of Rites Vice Minister Bai Guanghe? Never interacted in the Capital, not sure what kind of person he is. And why was I entrusted to the old mansion by Bai Yuanqing back then?" Bai Yihong asked in confusion.

"Bai Yuanqing is his older brother; seems like something happened in the family back then." Lin Ping’er made up.

"And my mother? Did she die giving birth to me, as Bai Yuanqing said? Then why was it said that without passing the provincial exam, kinship couldn’t be acknowledged?" Bai Yihong asked excitedly, questions coming one after another.

Lin Ping’er felt she could hardly keep up and had to continue fabricating: "It was said your mother died of illness, maybe the provincial exam matter was just an excuse from the old mansion."

Whether Bai Yuanqing truly said this, only Bai Fu knew in his heart.

After asking this, Bai Yihong suddenly stopped asking more, didn’t mention acknowledging kinship, and went off to do woodworking.

Lin Ping’er immediately went to find her daughter, asking, "Ruozhu, what do you think your father means?"

"Father was quite excited at first; after all, people want to trace their roots, being curious about their own background is natural. But Father isn’t foolish, he can be meticulous. Once he thinks carefully, he realizes there must have been many issues back then, so he’s hesitating about acknowledging the family roots." Bai Ruozhu explained.

Lin Ping’er nodded, "You’re right. We’ll just wait and let your father decide for himself."

Before Bai Yihong could resolve his inner struggle, a large group of relatives from the Bai Family showed up, filling the already not-so-spacious Main Hall.

Lin Ping’er’s face didn’t look good, arguably directly showing a displeased expression, something Bai Ruozhu rarely saw.

They were relatives from Lin Ping’er’s mother’s side, Bai Ruozhu’s uncle’s family. Bai Ruozhu hadn’t very much interacted with her uncle’s family since her transmigration, only heard her mother occasionally mention them, saying her maternal grandparents had passed, and her uncle and aunt were mean-spirited, not wishing to have much contact.

Her mother only cared about her favored elder nephew, even sent a silver lock to the eldest nephew’s son once.

Back then, that silver lock was taken by the Bai Family matriarch, causing quite a stir.

"Little sister, we haven’t seen each other for years, yet you don’t show signs of aging. Unlike us, working the fields here, it’s tough." Lin Jiang, Lin Ping’er’s brother, said with a fawning expression.

Sister-in-law Zhang Family chimed in, "Little aunt, we haven’t seen each other for years either, thought we’d bring the kids to visit you, Shenggen also wants to thank you for the silver lock you gifted to little Dandan."

The Shenggen she mentioned was Lin Ping’er’s favorite elder nephew.

Upon hearing his mother mention him, Lin Shenggen quickly rose to bow to Lin Ping’er, "Nephew thanks Aunt on behalf of Dandan."

Lin Ping’er saw his embarrassed expression, knowing he was dragged along reluctantly. Considering elder nephew being her brother’s eldest son with difficulties of his own, her expression improved slightly.

"Brother-in-law? Haven’t seen him for years; is he still the same?" Lin Jiang asked, his tone carrying a subtle scorn.

When he married his sister to the Bai Family’s second son, it was for the Bai Family patriarch being a Scholar, and the eldest son being a student. Who would’ve thought the second son was completely useless, having such a brother-in-law not only didn’t help them, but even had Lin Ping’er returning for aid, truly useless!

Bai Ruozhu coldly observed the uncle’s family, hearing him talk about her father that way, immediately feeling displeased.

"He went out for some matters, not sure when he’ll return." Lin Ping’er deliberately said this; actually, Bai Yihong was home. Knowing her maternal relatives had arrived, Lin Ping’er specifically instructed him to hide in the backyard doing woodworking, forbidding him from meeting her maternal relatives, knowing Bai Yihong was soft-hearted and thin-skinned, maternal relatives might seize on him for demands easily.

"What matters could brother-in-law possibly be busy with? Isn’t he just a nobody?" Lin Jiang chuckled twice.

Bai Ruozhu chose not to hold back this time, saying, "My father manages two shops, goes out to meet the managers, checks accounts; isn’t it normal? Uncle couldn’t know the hard work in managing shops; not everyone can just be idle."

Lin Jiang gave an awkward laugh twice, "I see, I didn’t know."

Zhang Family shot him a glance, signaling him not to anger the Bai Family, then cheerfully introduced, "Ruozhu, do you still remember your second cousin? And this is your cousin Lin Xue."

Bai Ruozhu glanced over; in her memory, the second cousin was Lin Shengye, seemed to be about the same age as the second brother, whereas Lin Xue was slightly younger than her, but they seldom met, not much recollection in her memory.

Beside Lin Shenggen, a little one in his wife’s arms looked at Bai Ruozhu and laughed, saying in a cute voice, "Dandan, Dandan!"

The little one spoke indistinctly, introducing himself as Dandan.

As someone with children, seeing little ones feels particularly heartwarming, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but smile, "Auntie remembers your name is Dandan, it’s our first meeting, this is auntie’s gift for you."

She pulled out a sachet and tucked it into Dandan’s hand, which she used for rewards; inside were some finely crafted silver coins.